CERIO Composable GPU Capability

GSIN categories

Normalized category

Executive summary

Shared Services Canada is requesting quotations on behalf of the Department of National Defence (DND) for the procurement of CERIO composable GPU capacity infrastructure and software licenses. The solution is intended to support experimental artificial intelligence and machine learning programming for the Canadian Armed Forces Joint Imagery Centre (CFJIC) to develop defence imaging analytics applications. The procurement is for a single 1-year contract with delivery required by March 31, 2026, to be used in an unclassified environment at the DND facility in Ottawa, Ontario. The requirement specifically calls for CERIO composable GPU technology (or equivalent meeting all mandatory technical specifications) that can be integrated into Agave Gold (AG) infrastructure standards. The solution must include 30 Fabric Nodes, 3 SHFL units, 7 Resource Chassis units, 50 active optical cables, 4 rack cabinets, and corresponding software licenses (15 Fabric Controller Licenses, 30 Fabric Node Composability Licenses, 7 Chassis Manager Software Licenses). The procurement emphasizes interoperability, cybersecurity through passive photonic interconnections, multi-vendor GPU support, and air-cooled design suitable for DND data centres.

Mandatory requirements

1. 01Solution must use passive photonic optical interconnections (not traditional Ethernet/fiber switches)
2. 02Solution must support broad range of GPU accelerators from multiple vendors to avoid single-vendor lock-in
3. 03Solution must be capable of composing GPU resources to Baremetal hosts, virtual hosts, workstations, or any available hypervisor
4. 04Solution must use air-cooled chassis (no liquid cooling)
5. 05Solution must support 16-32 GPU composition per host system
6. 06Solution must achieve standard GPU utilization of greater than 85%
7. 07Solution must support GPU composition up to 70 meters from GPU chassis
8. 08Solution must enable east-west (inter-GPU) communication for GPU clustering and support NVIDIA NVL technology for compatible GPUs
9. 09Exact hardware SKUs specified in Annex A must be provided (CERIO product line through Dell PISA)
10. 103-year software warranty starting from acceptance date
11. 11Software maintenance and support for entire contract period with regular updates and patches
12. 12Helpline support in English and French, 8 AM-5 PM EST, Monday-Friday with 60-minute response commitment
13. 1324/7/365 web-based technical support with 99% uptime availability
14. 14Contractor must be either a Canadian supplier or applicable trade partner supplier per reciprocal procurement policy
15. 15Contractor must provide software editor attestation and authorization forms (Form 2)
16. 16Contractor must complete integrity declaration form (Form 3)
17. 17Contractor must complete bidder declaration form (Form 4) confirming eligibility under reciprocal procurement policy

Suggested win themes

1. —Demonstrated experience: Highlight direct experience deploying composable GPU infrastructure and passive photonic interconnection solutions for government or defence clients with unclassified environments.
2. —Multi-vendor GPU support ecosystem: Showcase partnerships or integrations with major GPU providers (NVIDIA, AMD, etc.) and document technical implementation of multi-vendor GPU support.
3. —Superior delivery capability: Emphasize existing inventory, pre-assembled/tested systems, or partnerships allowing rapid delivery within the 5-day timeline; offer extended warranty or performance guarantees.
4. —Technical equivalence with documentation: If proposing non-CERIO solution, provide comprehensive technical specifications, third-party validation, reference implementations, and direct feature-by-feature mapping to each of the 8 mandatory requirements.
5. —Comprehensive support infrastructure: Highlight bilingual (English/French) technical support capability, 24/7 availability, established SLAs better than 60-minute response, and proven track record with Canadian government clients.